Third-rail support or chair.



J. S. FOX. THIRD RAIL SUPPORT ORGHA'IR.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 27, 1912.

Patented July 22, 1913.

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UW Jaimes SJfbX JAMES S. FOX, GF JACKSON. MICHIGAN.

THIRD-RAIL SUPPORT 0R CHAIR( Applielation tiled December 2?, 1912. Serial No. 738,863.

llo it known that l, Janes el. For, a subject ol.' the ling ot (lz-eat Britain, residing at Jackson, in the county ot Jackson and 'J'tate ot' lviiehigan, have invi-inted new and useful linprm'enients in llhird-lail Supports or Chairs, of which the following' issa specification.

rthis invention relates to improvements in electric railways and has particular application to a support or chair for holding the third rail oit an electric traction system in proper position relatively to the traclm'ay.

ln carrying` out the present invention, it my purpose to provide a third rail chair or support whereby the conductor rail may he held in proper position securely and of :t'ectively and which will ernl'iraee the desired liei'ltures of siniplicity` efficiency, durability and strength coupled with cheapness oi: cost in manufacture and installation.

lt is also niy purpose to provide -a chair or support ot.' the class described which will be coiistructed in Vsuch niauner' that' the third rail will he ell'ectively Igripped and, in etieet, clamped to the chai and 'wherein the component parts of the chair may be readily -ren'ioi'ed to facilitate repairing or renewal oi such parts.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in the construction. eon'ibination and arraugen'ient ot parts hereinafter Set forth in and falling within the scopo ot' the claims.

.ln the acconlpaiiyiiig drawing; Figure l a frag'inentaiv top plan view oi a third rail traction system equipped with iny present invention. Fie'. 2 is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation oii one oi the supports or chairs7 the Contact shoe or trolley carried by the car being shown as contacting with the third rail or conductor. and Fig'. l is a transverse sectional View through one ot' the supports or chairs.

lle'terriner now to the accompanying' drawing in detail, the, numerals l, l indicate the raile ot' the traelm'ay of the system over which the ears are adapted to travel.y while i) designates the siuniorts or chairs which are suitahly lias-iteiiei'l to the road hed adjacent to the rails olf the traeltwz'xy and spaced apart apprinn'iate, distances to hold the third rail or conductor,

llach chair or suilniort coi'npriscs, in the present inatanee. a channeled standard or tened to an appropriate hase through the niediuin ol bolts l or other fastening' devices and is inclined upwardly and away from the fastening'devices, as at and thence tended upward ly Substantially vertically as at (L while the upper* or free end thereof is curved as at T and extended inwardly toward the rails oit the trackway. A second standard ti,- iu the present instz'inc'e7 chai'ineled, has the lower end thereof extended outwardly to torni a toot 9 through which passed a bolt or the like 10 whereby the standard S may he suitably secured to the base. 'lille upper end ot' the last-men: tioned standard is curved, inwardly, 'that is, to say, to fard the rails of the trackway and overlies the curved end 7 of the standard and 'the curved upper extremities of the standards ot' all of the supports or chairs are spaced apartto receive a seinieircular hood or protector 1l which contacts 'with the adjacentV surface of the curved end 7 oi each standard 3 and extends the entire distance ot the traclm'ay so as to eliminate the possibility ot a person or object contact-- ing with the third rail.

l'isposed within the channel in the curved end T o'lz each standard 3 a elainp'or ilexiblc holder l2 curved longitiulinally to co11 forni to the shape ot' the end 7 and preferably conetructed of .niaterial possessing' yieldable or resilient qualities. This clamp or holder has the oppositie ends thereof turned inwardly to forni litige 13, 13 while the cent al portion thereof is provided with an opening' lll; alining with registering; openings :in the curved end 7 of the Standard 3, the Similar end of the standard 8 and the adjacent portion o'li the hood ll and through these :lining openings; is passed a headed bolt 15 having a threaded shank earryinn a nut, 1G. llrlfounted within the clamp or holder lf2 and resting upon the lugs lil, 13 thereof are insulating blocks 17.y 17 having the confronting' faces thereof formed to provide a substantially "tshaped slot- .18 de- Signed to receive the third rail or conductor l0, the Contact sui-tace ot the latter dependingl below the, lower ends of the insulating' blocks and is designed to loe contacted hy a shoe or trolley wheel Q0 liournaled Upon an axle Qi carried by a trolley pole 22, the latter being suital'ily it: ied to the trucks oi a car wherel'iy powe may be conveyed to the, n'iotms1 ot the. car t'o': propelling the innieht Y haring the lower end thereof Itas, l same and other ai'iparatns on such car.

:loo

' lating blocks 17 17l In practice, the nut 16 on t-he bolt 15 is tightened whereby the holder or clainp 12 is drawn into the channel in the curved end 7 of the standard 3. rlhis inward movement or' the-clamp or holder causes the end portions thereof to exert pressure on the insu- Whereby the latter eiectively clamp the adjacent portion of4 the third rail and so hold the latterv in proper position.

From the foregoing description taken in connection .with the accompanying drawing, the construction and manner of eniploying my invention Will be readily apparent. It will beseen that l have provided athird rail. support for electric railroads whereby the rail or conductor is eiiectively clamped iii position, While stability is iniparted to the chair incident to the lower ends of the standards constituting the saine being spaced apart.

While have herein shown and described A'one preferred form of my invention'by Way of illustration, I desire to have it understood that I do not liinit or confine myself to the precise details otconstruction herein described and delineated, as modification and variation Imay be made withinthe scope of the' claims and Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. A third rail support comprising a standard provided With a curved upper end, rail receiving blocks disposed Within said end, and a liexible holder arranged Within said end and carrying said blocks, said Sages of this patetutmay be obtained for ve cents each,

holder being curved longitudinally, andy means' operable to dranT said holder within the curved end ot said si andai'd in a vertical direction to produce a clamping act-ion between said "blocks and'third rail.

2. A third rail support comprising a standard provided with a curved upper end, rail receiving blocks disposed Within said end, a flexible holder carrying said blocks and curved longitudinally, said holder be-' said end, and iii/cans passed through said holder and the curved end of' said standard whereby theholder may' be drawn into the standard to exert 'a clamping action upon said blocks.

3 In an electric railroad, a third rail, a series of supports or chairs for said rail spaced apart, each support comprising a channeled standard provided with a curved upperend extending inwardly toward the traclzvvay, blocks of insulating material dising arranged Within posed Within the curved end of said channeled standard and embracing said third rail, a flexible holder curved longitudinally vand disposed within said end and carrying said blocks, and niea'ns passed through said standard and said holder whereby Athe holder may be influenced to exert pressure upon said blocks to produce' action between the blocks and third rail.

In testimony whereof l affix iny signature in presence of two Witnesses. v JAMES S. FOX.

YWitnesses lViLLLiM K. Saoiixnonrii,

H. EDGAR CorPENs.

by addressing the l Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington; D. C.

a clamping 

